The Wild One

Released Dec 30, 1953

1 hr. 19 min.

Drama

List

75%

24 Reviews

Tomatometer

71%

5,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

Johnny (Marlon Brando) and his motorcycle gang roll into Carbonville for a biker competition and raise enough hell to get kicked out of town. They repair to nearby Wrightsville and continue their reign of terror. The local sheriff (Robert Keith) is helpless to stop them, but when a rival gang arrives, he manages to arrest their leader, Chino (Lee Marvin). Meanwhile, Johnny finds himself attracted to the sheriff's daughter, Kathie (Mary Murphy), and decides to stick around.

Read More

Read Less

Watch on Fandango at Home

Premiered Jan 23

Buy Now

Fandango at Home

Prime Video

Apple TV

Rent The Wild One on Fandango at Home, Prime Video, Apple TV, or buy it on Fandango at Home, Prime Video, Apple TV.

Blobbo X

Solid production all around plus good acting from Brando, Lee Marvin, Mary Murphy and the rest. Nice to see Mr Kimball there in the gang, too.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/11/24

Full Review

Rami A

This may not be Brando's best film, but it certainly is entertaining.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/07/24

Full Review

erroll f

The difinitive biker movie that paved the way for much wilder biker films .Brando of course chews up the scenery with his inimitable method and accent. Lee Marvin,in an early role, rides into town with his Beetles gang (Lennon/McCartney see the movie?) and Brando flattens him. With a pretty thin script,this Brando star vehicle is paced well to hold most viewers interest.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

12/07/23

Full Review

Juan R

A movie without any substance. Ridiculous characters, lousy script and mediocre acting.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

08/02/23

Full Review

Renato d

I have just seen Marlon Brando in this film and loved it!!!! Cool!!!! He was great in leather jacket.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/24/23

Full Review

Dave S

The Wild One was probably pretty intense viewing when released back in the early 50s but, by today's standards, it's pretty dated, filled with unintential humor and lightweight action. When Johnny (Marlon Brando) leads his motorcycle gang into a dusty California town, the locals immediately sense danger and band together to put an end to the perceived threat. The problem with the movie, as seen through today's lens, are the bikers themselves, many of whom would seem more comfortable in a Greenwich Village coffeeshop, snapping their fingers to some Beat poetry. Brando is solid in the lead, brandishing his Brando-like scowl to anyone who'll look at him. Other than watching to see Brando in a relatively early role, there's really not much to see here in this mob mentality themed movie.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

04/03/24

Full Review

Read all reviews

Post a rating

Laslo Benedek

Director

Marlon Brando

Johnny Strabler

Mary Murphy

Kathie Bleeker

Robert Keith

Sheriff Harry Bleeker

Lee Marvin

Chino

Jay C. Flippen

Sheriff Stew Singer

Show Less Cast & Crew

Show More Cast & Crew

89%

88%

Requiem for a Heavyweight

99%

95%

On the Waterfront

TRAILER

for On the Waterfront

98%

89%

The Last Picture Show

53%

63%

The Fugitive Kind

60%

63%

The New Centurions

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

View more photos

Gavin Lambert

Sight & Sound

In [director] Laslo Benedek the American cinema has an unusual talent, with a solidity and a spirit of humane inquiry which gives this film, in its faults as well as its virtues, a genuine and independent quality.

Mar 17, 2020

Full Review

Milton Luban

Hollywood Reporter

Marlon Brando turns in a tremendously powerful performance as the inarticulate, frozen-faced, truculent outlaw who heads the gang of motorcycle hoodlums.

Jan 25, 2018

Full Review

Dave Kehr

Chicago Reader

Legions of Brando impersonators have turned his performance in this seminal 1954 motorcycle movie into self-parody, but it's still a sleazy good time.

Nov 7, 2007

Full Review

Yasser Medina

Cinefilia

Aside from Brando's presence as the rebel with a cause, I find the way it interrogates motorcycle gangs and juvenile delinquency quite bland. [Full review in Spanish]

Rated: 5/10

Oct 27, 2022

Full Review

Brian Eggert

Deep Focus Review

The Wild One's status as a cultural marker remains undeniable.

Rated: 3/4

Feb 23, 2022

Full Review

Clyde Gilmour

Maclean's Magazine

A violent, frightening and quite distasteful melodrama about a gang of hoodlum cyclists (led by Marlon Brando) who terrorize a sleepy town. Some of the acting is excellent.

Nov 5, 2019

Full Review

Read all reviews

Synopsis

Johnny (Marlon Brando) and his motorcycle gang roll into Carbonville for a biker competition and raise enough hell to get kicked out of town. They repair to nearby Wrightsville and continue their reign of terror. The local sheriff (Robert Keith) is helpless to stop them, but when a rival gang arrives, he manages to arrest their leader, Chino (Lee Marvin). Meanwhile, Johnny finds himself attracted to the sheriff's daughter, Kathie (Mary Murphy), and decides to stick around.

Director: Laslo Benedek
Screenwriter: John Paxton
Distributor: Columbia Pictures
Production Co: Columbia Pictures
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Dec 30, 1953, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Apr 16, 2012
Sound Mix: Mono

Most Popular at Home Now